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Read how the Rovers roared to provincial and national titles, and North Toronto’s journey to vanquishing any ghosts from last year’s Women’s L1 Cup.

Simcoe’s spectacular season ended in double delight

Simcoe County Rovers won the League1 Ontario Women’s Premier Division and became the first team from the province to win the League1 Canada Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship.

Women’s Premier MVP and Forward of the Year Ally Rowe netted 24 goals in 16 games in the regular season, scoring over half of Simcoe County’s tally of 47.

The prowess that earned her the Golden Boot was epitomized by three hat-tricks and five braces, including scoring five against both Waterloo United and Vaughan Azzurri over home and away games.

Founded in 2021, Rovers enjoyed a solid start to life in League1 Ontario, finishing in the top seven in each of their first three seasons before stepping up to the next level this year.

And after winning the divisional title they headed to Alberta to compete in the Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship. In the first round they faced Altitude, who were averaging almost three goals per game in League1 BC and had only conceded nine goals in 16.

The task was daunting but Rovers found a way, winning 1-0 through a Handley strike in the 20th minute and making them the first team from Ontario to ever reach the final.

There they faced CS Mont-Royal Outremont from Québec, and after a goalless first half Handley would once again find the net, this time with a wonderful 20-yard free kick that soared into the top corner to draw first blood in the 66th minute.

Twenty-three minutes later, an Ally Rowe header found its way into the net to secure the victory for Simcoe, and Handley with her two goals won the tournament MVP accolade.

Simcoe will be aiming to repeat their successes next year, and if they keep true to their acquired nickname of ‘mentality monsters’ then they’ll be tough to stop.

Nitros boost themselves to cup glory

North Toronto Nitros won the Women’s L1 Cup in emphatic style with a dominant 5-1 defeat of Alliance United.

Despite narrowly missing out on the 2025 Women’s Premier, and losing in last year’s L1 Cup Final, North Toronto finally reaped their reward.

Their cup run began in the Second Round where they faced fellow Women’s Premier side Waterloo United, and triumphed with a tactical masterclass after their goal from Kaia Rice was levelled out before the break.

Kayla Briggs was subbed on at the half and only took four minutes to make her appearance known as she skilfully dribbled past the defenders in the pouring rain and fired home.

Twenty-four minutes and a triple substitution later, Waterloo’s deficit doubled as Ashley Campbell became the second sub to score.

It didn’t stop there as in the dying embers of the game, Elise Bell, who had been subbed on for Alexus Worrell, found the back of the net to secure the 4-1 win and a place in the quarterfinal where they would face North Mississauga.

North Mississauga started well and were rewarded when Nyla Dore-Anderson slotted the ball past Noelle Henning to open the scoring 19 minutes in. The lead was held until 11 minutes into the second half when Kiyomi McCausland drew Nitros level.

McCausland was replaced by Ashley Campbell quarter of an hour later and a late brace from the sub sent her side to the semifinals. With four teams now left, the competition ramped up and North Toronto’s next challenge was Simcoe.

Both sides held strong through 90 minutes, neither team allowing the other to capitalize on any mistakes, so penalties decided who would make it to the final.

Kaia Rice, Courtney Poon, Renee Watson and Ashley Campbell all found the net for North Toronto and that was enough after Rylee Traicoff’s miss and Bryanna Caldwell’s attempt was saved.

The road to the final was complete. One game against Alliance United stood between this team and their first ever trophy, and it’s the game that only one year ago they had faltered against FC London.

This year they would make no mistake.

Braces for Ashley Campbell and Taliyah Walker, and a goal for Elise Bell made sure that there was no way back for Alliance, and North Toronto finally lifted the trophy that had eluded them in 2024.

With the standard now set, can they go even further in 2026?